Will Owen Jones Family

RG0956.AM: Will Owen Jones Family

Papers: 1882-1979
Lincoln, Lancaster County, Neb.:
Size: 1.5 cu.ft.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Will Owen Jones was born on October 6, 1862, at Berlin, Wisconsin.
His father, John A., was a Congregational minister and in 1874
moved the family to Richardson County, Nebraska, where the younger
Jones received his education at Salem. In 1877 Jones entered
the newspaper field and founded the Salem Advertiser,
which he edited until 1880 when he enrolled in the University
of Nebraska. Following graduation from the University in 1886,
Jones became the city editor of the Nebraska State Journal
and in 1892 was promoted to managing editor, a position he was
to hold for the rest of his life.

In 1889 he married Edith Doolittle of Lincoln and this union
produced one daughter, Mariel. In 1899 he was a delegate at the
organization of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. President
Roosevelt appointed Jones as a member of the board of visitors
to the United States Naval Academy in 1907. In 1927 the Carnegie
Peace Foundation chose Jones as one of forty editors to tour
Europe on a fact-finding mission. At the time of his death, January
29, 1928, Jones was a director of the Lincoln Joint Stock Land
Bank and was the author of By Land and Sea, a publication
on foreign travel.

The Correspondence of Series 1 includes a
typed copy of an 1885 letter from John M. Thayer; letters regarding
articles in the Nebraska State Journal; and letters between members
of the Jones Family. Also included in this series is a comic
song about William Jennings Bryan.

Series 2 is comprised of the writings of
Will Owen Jones. Included is a manuscript entitled, "The
Pilgrim in the West:" "By The Way" newspaper columns
written by Jones during the years 1924-1926; Carnegie Editorial
tour letters of 1927 written from Europe, which appeared as newspaper
articles penned by Jones. A selection of writings by Jones, also
titled By Land and Sea has been published and is available
in the Society's Library.

The Scrapbooks of Series 3 cover the years
1882-1979 and contain a variety of materials on members of the
Jones Family. Included are newspaper articles, theater and recital
programs, and cards relating to performances of Will Owen, Edith,
and Mariel Jones.

Series 4 contains the Diaries of Mariel Jones
for the years 1905-1908, 1911, and 1937. The entries for the
early years describe school and social events. The 1937 diary
contains entries made during a trip to Europe.

The Jones Family Material of Series 5 includes
biographical material on Will Owen Jones; Mariel Jones; Guernsey
Jones papers; and miscellany.

Photographs are stored separately. See the Reference Staff
for assistance.

A collection of Mariel Jones items is housed in the Nebraska
History Museum 's collections.

DESCRIPTION

Series 1 - Correspondence, 1885-1978 and Undated

Box 1Folder

1885 - July 1927

August 1927 - 1978 and undated

Series 2 - Writings of Will Owen Jones, 1924-1927

Box 1Folder

Manuscript - "The Pilgrim in the West"

Speech, "The Spirit of a Community," Nebraska State
Association of Commercial Clubs convention, June 2, 1920